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PARTNERS: THE MOVIE III stars Yutaka Mizutani as detective Ukyo Sugishita of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s (MPD) Special Task Unit, a role he has played since the first season of AIBOU: TOKYO DETECTIVE DUO. Co-star Hiroki Narimiya joined the series as Sugishita’s latest partner, Tooru Kai, in the 11th season (2012-2013) and now makes his first appearance in the PARTNERS films. The two leads are joined by series regulars Koji Ishizaka, Suzuki Anju, Kazuhisa Kawahara, Ryosuke Otani, Takashi Yamanaka, Atsushi Yamanishi, Seiji Rokkaku and Satoshi Jinbo. Newcomers to the franchise include Tsuyoshi Ihara (GAMERA: GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE, 13 ASSASSINS), Yumiko Shaku (GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA, THE TIGER MASK), Toru Kazama (MASKED RIDER THE FIRST, MW) and Shin Takuma (RETURN OF GODZILLA, GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA).

The film takes the characters away from the streets of Tokyo and to a mysterious island in the Pacific Ocean. Much of the movie was shot in Okinawa with state-of-the-art 4K digital cameras.

Mineaki Kai (Koji Ishizaka) of the National Police Agency directs the Special Task Unit to investigate a reported accidental death — a man died after being kicked by a horse — on Phoenix Island, a privately-owned isle 300km off the coast of Tokyo. Task Unit Director-General — and Ukyo Sugishita’s former partner — Takeru Kanbe (Mitsuhiro Oikawa) assigns the case to Sugishita and Tooru Kai.

Arriving on the island, Sugishita and Kai meet with its owner, Michihiko Wakasa (Shin Takuma), the president of Wakasa Industries. They also encounter a group of ex-Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers who are using the island as a training camp and view the detectives as uninvited guests. And when Sugishita discovers evidence that the “accidental” death is actually a homicide, he and Kai find their own lives are now danger…

The events in the film will be set up in PARTNERS: THE MOVIE III – INTRODUCTION (相棒 -劇場版III- 序章, Aibo Gekijo-ban III – Joshoo), a four-part story that will be available from the NTT Docomo mobile service starting March 29, 2014.